The Death of Wonderland
by CastaliaDione
Summary: A tale of Alice. A 13 year old girl who has dreams of a place she visited when she was 9. Did she go? Is her Wonderland going to burn and be destroyed?
1. Chapter 1

**The Death of Wonderland**

**Hey. This is a new story! Yay! I love Alice in Wonderland, my school might be doing it as a production next year and would love to partake in it. I got the idea of this story off of the game Alice: Madness Returns. It is a very dark story, but I will try to add humour in :D **

**Note: I am English so the language will be as well, so I will say stuff like trousers instead of pants. Also, it is sent in Victorian times or just before/after.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland. (Obviously) This is just a story I came up with to show how Alice felt after her adventures. This is set many years in the future from her first visit, when Alice was little. In this, Alice is 13 and lives in an Orphanage. I do not own characters such as Alice or the Mad Hatter, but I do own a couple of characters like Miranda.\**

**Enjoy!**

**~Cassie **

Darkness. Swirling clouds of despair, fire and hate. And screams. So many screams. She couldn't take it. Her voice joined theirs. A screech, full of sorrow and pain wrung out from her mouth. Her wonderland was burning.

Alice woke. Her head spun as she climbed out of bed. She realised she was crying. Wiping her eyes, she stared at herself in the cracked black mirror over her small dressing table. Her black hair hung around her face limply, her deep blue eyes lifeless. She had dark bags under her eyes, her brow plastered in a permanent frown. She picked at a loose piece of cotton dangling from the sleeve of her tattered nightgown. Alice sighed and pulled it over her head. Letting it fall on the floor, she picked up her long coat and pulled it around her naked body. She then walked over to the small sink, picking up the metal bucket beside it. She turned the tap on and filled the bucket to the brim with cold water, then, she poured it into her tin bath. She repeated this a couple more times until the bath was full. She removed her coat and stepped in.

After lying in the cold water for a good hour, Alice finally got out. Her skin was all shrivelled like a prune. She sighed. The dreams had returned. Dreams of Wonderland. But this time, they were different. Distorted. Her Wonderland had become cold, bleak and full of death. Alice pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail, tying it with a black ribbon. She dressed in her usual clothes, a striped shirt, a black pinafore over the top. She was pulling on her black striped tights when a knock came on her door. "Alice?" She rolled her eyes. _Miranda. _

"Come in."

Miranda walked through the door, her beautiful blonde hair piled on top of her head, a blue ribbon holding it in place. Miranda was only nine, four years younger than Alice, but assumed they were best friends. "Oh, do excuse me Miss Alice, I was expecting you to be clothed." Alice stared at her.

"I am clothed Miranda. Wait for me in the breakfast hall, I will be down shortly." Miranda bowed her head and left, closing the door behind her. Alice scoffed inside and finished putting her tights on. She then laced her boots and pulled her fingerless gloves on. She departed for breakfast.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Again, I am in no way claiming to be Lewis Carroll. I just love his work and want to write more, and create my own version of his beautiful story...!**

**Sorry this has taken such a long time to upload, I have been writing whilst I am on holiday. Also with this chapter, I wrote it, but it didn't save properly, so I have to re-write it :( But, I wrote a lot more than before, and I also added more detail. **

**I would like to thank my sister, ViolaCastalle for reading my chapters and giving me advice! Also, if you like books such as Harry Potter, you should check out her story! It takes place in the time after Hogwarts! But if you, like me, don't ship the pairings placed by J.K Rowling, (the Queen) try not to get offended by the way she writes. But seriously, it is an amazing story. (Be warned though, there are a lot of fluffy parts :P)**

**If anybody wishes to write a review or send me a pm giving me feedback or constructive criticism, please do. I love to hear back from my readers!**

**Enjoy!**

**~Cassie.**

Chapter 2.

After breakfast, Alice had returned to her room, her head pounding. The children at Holden's Orphanage screamed constantly. Alice ran a rag under the tap and pressed it to her forehead. She then lay back onto her small metal bed and fell into sleep.

A knock woke her. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Alice climbed out of bed, her head ringing less than before. She opened the door slightly. Stood in front of her was a woman, hands clasped in front of her startling white apron. Matron Ava. "Hello Alice, could I come in?" Alice fully opened the door. Ava walked in and Alice gestured to a chair. Ava sat. Once Alice had placed herself on the bed, Matron Ava spoke.

"Alice, this is quite a lot to ask but..." She trailed off, embarrassed. Alice looked at her inquisitively.

"Alice," she started again, after taking a deep breath. "Could you do me a favour?" She reached into the pocket of her apron, and withdrew an envelope.

Alice walked down the streets of London, the heels of her knee-high, lace-up boots clacking on the cobbled pavement. The stench of steadily increasing pollution and dirt filled her nose. Not pleasant. Alice adjusted her bow and continued forward, ignoring the drunk on the side of the road calling out to her. She kicked a bottle. Gasps rose up in front of her, as did the smell of sickly perfume and tobacco smoke. Alice looked up, but then regretted it. Before her, staring incredulously, was a gaggle of women. Bright dresses, corsets done up too tight, making breasts protrude, almost to the point of falling out, chokers and enormous wigs. Faces painted white, lips stained red. Your common whore.

Alice cursed in a most unladylike way. She kept her head down and pushed through them, they squealed when she shoved against them. "Young lady!" One of them called once Alice had made it through. But Alice ignored her and continued forward. She kept her head down all the way to the Hare Inn. She hated that place, it reminded her too much of her friend, The March Hare. She pushed the envelope under the door, too disgusted to go in. She straightened up, and brushed her pinafore down. She knocked twice on the door and turned. A flash of white caught her gaze. A cat. It was sat in front of her, staring. She crouched to stroke it. "You remind me of my friend in Wonderland. He was a cat too, he was beautiful, I called him the Cheshire cat. But he could talk, evaporate and even smile." The cat winked. Alice stared at it in shock as the edges of the cat's mouth lifted into a huge grin. "Ches?" The cat stretched, stood up and padded away, disappearing into the shadows of the approaching night. "Ches!" Alice called. Forgetting where she was, and what the time was, Alice chased after it.

She ran far. So far. The cat was absent for most of it, but every so often she saw a spark of white. Memories flooded back. She was nine again, running in a field after a rabbit in a waistcoat. Alice smiled. She knew she wasn't mad. The doctors had told her Wonderland was a dream, and that she was ill. They told her that was why she burnt the library. But she didn't. Something knocked the candle beside her, and it fell onto the pile of books. Alice ran a finger along the scar on her neck, the burn scar. She knew, deep down, she did not care if no-one believed her. She was still running,into the darkness, following the cat. Alice knew that she did not kill her family.

She stopped. White in the darkness, the cat. It was sat in front of her, one paw stuck out onto the floor before it. Alice, confused and a little scared, stepped forward. The cat moved it's paw away as she neared. When Alice placed her foot on that spot, the floor broke away. Alice fell. And fell. And fell. Her skirts billowing, she plunged into the darkness, unaware that she was screaming. Her hair came loose from its bow, the ribbon floating neatly beside her. It was pitch black.

Finally, a candle blew up towards Alice. Or did _she fall_ towards _it? _Alice's eyes were wide, she had stopped screaming. She remembered this. Memories were triggered, the blanks in her mind were unleashed, a flood shocked her brain. She remembered it all. All of it. The Mad Hatter, the Blue Caterpillar, the funny twins, the sleepy Dormouse, and, most hauntingly, The Red Queen.

As Alice fell, after she had stopped screaming, she took the time to look around her. The sides of the well, (she assumed it was a well), were filled with shelves and cupboards. A jar caught her attention, so she picked it up. It read, 'Orange Marmalade'. This triggered another memory from long ago. She held it close to her chest, but then thought 'What if I drop it? Somebody may be below me and I could injure them!' So she managed to place it on a shelf as she passed. Down, down, down. Would the fall _never _end? Then, Alice hit the floor. A floor of sticks and dry leaves.

Alice was not a bit hurt so leapt to her feet, to take in her surroundings. She suddenly realised that she had been grinning wildly, the most she had smiled in many years since the death of her parents and sister. "Ches!" she called. A flash. The Cheshire cat appeared before her.

"Alice my dear. Welcome back." Alice chuckled and lifted the cat into her arms.

"Was that you in London? I noticed that that cat was white, not blue." Ches evaporated from her arms and reappeared on the floor before her. He nodded, his blue head covered in scratches. Alice decided that it was impolite to ask how he had got them. Ches smiled at her. "Remember how to arrive back where you belong Alice, Wonderland needs you." He then disappeared, leaving Alice alone in the darkness.

"Well. Isn't this curious?" Alice said to herself. A light blossomed up ahead of her. "Even curiouser!" Alice exclaimed, her grammar wilting as she started to head towards the light. As she neared, another light shone, even further away. "Curiouser and curiouser."

Eventually, Alice made it into a space, resembling a ceiling. "Oh!" Alice cried before she shot to the floor, her landing cushioned by some sort of pillow. It turned out to be a huge dog bed. Alice jumped up immediately. Brushing her dress down, she realised she was gripping onto her ribbon. So she tied her hair back and took in her surroundings. She must have forgotten this part. In front of her was a glass table. But not just any glass table. An enormous glass table. Alice looked around. A door! She attempted to open it, but no such luck. Locked. Door after door she tried, but all resulting the same. Alice tasted blood and realised she had been biting hard on her lip. A curtain? She pulled it away and smiled. A tiny door. She tried to open it, but, typically, it was locked. She turned. Perhaps the table? She raced back to the table and attempted to climb up a leg. She ended sliding back to the floor. Frustrated, Alice stomped her foot. Her gaze turned to a small box, at the base of the table.

Inside the box were two small squares of some kind of cake. As Alice inspected, her stomach began to growl. The cakes were covered in white icing and neatly drawn on top were the words 'Eat Me'. Alice shrugged. "It couldn't hurt me." She took a large bite. Immediately, she felt her body start to grow larger and larger. She reached the height of the table, smiled, but kept growing. Alice started to panic. When her head hit the ceiling, Alice was close to crying. But she could reach the table. A gold key shone there. Alice picked it up, but realised that she was far too big to fit through the minuscule door. Cursing, Alice turned back to the table. A bottle had appeared. She read the label. 'Drink Me' Alice did. The drink tasted like Alice's favourite foods. Raspberry tart, apple crumble, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding. Before Alice had even realised, she had shrunk. Grinning, she ran to the door, put the key in the lock and raced out into the sunshine. She felt a severe case of de ja vu.

What Alice thought was the sun, turned out to be moonlight. A full moon hung in the sky, amidst blackness. There were no stars. Alice turned her eye to the garden she was stood in, she was shocked to see how much it had changed. Before, the garden was beautiful, filled with flowers that sang songs to her, chattered with each other and her. Alice smiled as she reminisced, her thoughts turning to the memory of them stating that she was a weed, not a flower. But the sight before Alice was dark. The once exquisite hedges, that twirled into green shapes, were gone. Replaced with black, dead leaves, the shapes that used to hold so much beauty were disfigured and chopped. The flower beds were bare. As Alice walked down the gravelly path, she searched for the talking flowers. But they were all gone, small pits left where their roots once resided. The delicate and intricate greenhouse lay shattered on the grass. Alice gasped when she stumbled across a rotting pile of dead insects. Rocking-horseflies, bread-and-butterflies, and all of the creatures that used to buzz happily around the garden. A tear slid down Alice's cheek. She passed through the arch-way, leaving the garden. It pained her to think it. She wanted to discard it from her thoughts. But she couldn't. She knew, deep down. Wonderland was dying.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hai gais.**

**Yep, here it be, chapter 3! Hey, I made a rhyme! I hope you have enjoyed my story so far, I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it. Chapter 2 took me a looooooong time to write and is probably the longest chapter I have EVER written.**

**Disclaimer: I am not claiming I am Lewis Carroll. I am not claiming that I created most of the characters. I did create some though. But yeah. **

**I am British so words like 'biscuits' will mean the British word for biscuits, not the American word. Biscuits are like cookies. Also, if I have, or do use the word 'pants' I am referring to underwear, not trousers.**

**This chapter I started in a museum cafe. A war museum cafe. In France. I'm on an adventure! Anyway, you probably just want to get on and read the chapter. Sorry about that...**

**~Cassie**

Alice walked away from the garden, her heart pounding, her mind full of sorrow. What was happening? Her legs grew weary, no matter how far she walked, she never seemed to get anywhere. Eventually she collapsed under a tree, to catch her breath. A packet of biscuits appeared next to her. She opened it and started to munch on one. "Why do I never seem to move forwards?" She asked herself, something she tended to do when she was alone, especially since she was orphaned. "Then again, this is Wonderland, perhaps I should turn around and go back the way I came?" Alice decided that would be her plan. She stood up, brushed lint off of her dress and turned back. "Please work, otherwise I shall resort to having a tantrum and that would be embarrassing." Alice trudged back down the path. Quickly, the doorway to a large, crooked house appeared. Alice smiled. "I knew it!" She exclaimed.

Just as Alice was about to turn the golden doorknob, she felt a whoosh of air fly around her ankles. She turned to see the Cheshire cat. "You will meet an old friend in there Alice, but I warn you, he has changed since the last time you were here." He said, look her up and down. "What happened to you Alice? If I rightly remember, you used to wear lovely colours." Ches thought for a moment, as if recalling something. "Ah! You wore a blue dress with that white apron. What happened?"

"I lost my family, and got thrown into an orphanage Ches, these are the clothes they provided me with." Alice replied.

Ches shook his head and muttered something that sounded like "That just won't do." He vanished into a cloud of whirling blue air, forming a maelstrom. It started to swirl around her, covering her completly. Then, it stopped. Alice had had her eyes squeezed shut for the entire duration of the madness. When she opened them, she looked directly at her outfit. She gasped. Gone were the dreary black clothes, in their place were colours. Alice was clothed in an aqua and pink dress, a dress that seemed to almost emit light. Her tattered black gloves were replaced with white fingerless lace gloves that encased her hands. She could barely feel them, they felt so delicate. Gone were her black boots, changed into comfortable pale brown boots, they went to her ankle, laced up and were lifted slightly by a small heel. Her black hair was held back from her face by an aqua ribbon, tied into a bow on the top of her head. Her hair seemed to have grown. Before it reached her shoulders, but now it reached her back. "Ches." Alice breathed. But Ches had already gone, leaving in his place a sword that Alice knew only to well. The Vorpal Sword.

Alice grabbed the sword. Wonderland had changed, who knew what dangers she would face. But Alice was not afraid. She turned back to the door and twisted the handle. Song burst from within, the merry song of Alice's favourite group of tea drinkers. _Twinkle twinkle little bat, how I wonder where you're at, up above the world so high, like a tea tray in the sky. Twinkle twinkle twinkle twinkle. _And so on. Alice smiled when the song came to a halt as she walked down the hallway towards the long table filled with mugs and teapots. Alice sat in a plush armchair next to a thin man in a large hat. He lifted his head and stared at her, his lopsided green eyes searching hers. A thick toothy grin filled his white face, his orange corkscrew hair bouncing with joy under his hat. "Alice." The Hatter said.

"Hatter." Alice replied.

Alice turned to the hare sitting opposite her. One of his ears was crooked, his large eyes flickering around nervously. His two front teeth jutted out from his upper lip, his brown fur dirty and untidy. The March Hare. The Hare looked down to his paws, he was holding a teapot. Pouring it into a mug that was shattered at the bottom. Fortunately, another mug was situated under it, the tea running straight into it. The Hare's eye twitched. Alice knew what was coming next and ducked. The March Hare flung the shattered mug directly through the air, precisely where her head had once been. The mug hit the wall at the other end of the room and broke into thousands of little pieces. Alice laughed as she straightened up. The March Hare gave off a nervous giggle.

A yawn and the clattering of the lid of a teapot turned Alice's eyes to the table. Climbing out of the top of a teapot was the little sleepy dormouse. She had changed considerably, her once brown fur had faded to white. Her once pink eyes had darkened to black. She wore a deep red tunic, crumpled from sleep. "Meliumpkin!" Alice squealed. Meli squeaked and pressed a paw to her tiny heart.

"Alice! You frightened me." Alice blushed and apoligised. The Mad Hatter tutted.

"What is it Hatter?" Alice asked, after sipping her tea. The Hatter looked confused before turning to Alice and exclaiming, "I have been considering things that begin with the letter 'M', mercury, molten..." He stuttered for a bit, thinking. Alice laughed.

"Ches must have lied, you have not changed at all!" She went to throw her arms around the Hatter before a voice rang out, "That is where you are wrong, Alice dear." Ches was wrong. He and the Hatter exchanged a look. The Mad Hatter clapped his hands. Two giant hands reached down and lifted him. "Oh Hatter." Alice gasped. The top half of the Hatter was completely normal, well, as normal as you can be when you are mad, but that was it. The Hatter was only there from the waist up. His legs were gone. "What happened?" Alice breathed.

Meliumpkin piped up, "The White Rabbit betrayed us, he joined the Red Queen. When Hatter was sleeping, he snuck in. and stole his legs!" The Hatter had his eyes squeezed shut. The sight of him brought a tear to Alice's eye. "Aye a traitor!" The March Hare screamed, throwing scones at Meli. Alice glanced at Ches. He was sipping his tea. A whisper in Alice's ear made her jump. It was the Mad Hatter. "Do you have any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?" He queried. Alice pondered this for a while.

Four cups of tea and a slice of banana loaf later, Alice still hadn't solved the Hatter's puzzle. Ches had disappeared long ago, the Mad trio were chatting. Alice stood, her eyes narrowed. She drew the Vorpal Sword. Approaching, were creatures. Creatures of sorts that Alice had only dreamed about. They were the creatures from her nightmares. Huge black slug-like beings, sliding and squelching along the ground towards them. Meliumpkin dashed into her teapot and withdrew brandishing a tiny sword, the size of a needle. The Hatter flung hat-pins, unable to stand. The March Hare ducked under the table, quivering like a leaf. Alice sprung into action. She swung the Vorpal Sword at the creatures, splitting them in two. Meli stabbing them a hundred times over, until they fell, lifeless. Before long, all of the slugs were gone, their corpses evaporating into hazy black mist.

Alice drained her teacup and brushed the glistening droplets of sweat from her brow. She looked down at her dress. It was mysterious. She had been splattered by thick black blood but there was no trace of it on her clothing or body. A black sword sheath floated down in front of her, she jumped back, frightened. Ches appeared and apologised for scaring her. He handed her the sheath, explaining that is was for her to hold the Vorpal Sword. She thanked him and tied it round her waist. Then, gracefully, she sheathed the sword.


End file.
